boojumsnark25
Aquarium Advice Regular
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this is really good, right? Does this mean I'd be able to stock all my fish at once? As I've said before, the LFS is a long ways away...
my tank is converting 4ppm ammonia in 14 hours...
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Zagz
Aquarium Advice Addict
What size tank do you have? Are there any nitrites in the tank? If the ammonia is being converted with no nitrite spike, this is good. But still depending on the tank and what you plan on stocking with, you could still get an ammonia spike with a large amount of fish. If your lfs is far away you may have no choice. If you have no nitrites remaining either I'd say your cycle is done. What is your nitrate reading?
boojumsnark25
Aquarium Advice Regular
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Zagz said:
55 gallon. Nitrites went up to about 3-4, now down to .5 and dropping...nitrates are around 40. Here is my stocking list:
1 Black Ghost Knifefish
1 Half Black Angelfish
1 Pearl Gourami
1 Pleco (I'm assuming he's a dwarf one, I've had him for 2 years and he's maxed out at 6 inches...)
2 Black Mollies
3 Marigold Swordtails (1 male, two female)
6 False Julii Cory Cats
10 Zebra Danios
Zagz
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sounds good to me except for the knifefish. I'm not personally familiar with them aside from I know the grow large. I would not personally keep him in a 55 gal tank.
Keep an eye on your parameters after adding the fish so as to be aware if you have any ammonia spikes. Keep your nitrates to about 20 or less ppm if possible.
How far away is your lfs? Have you contacted them to see if they have the fish you want if you have to drive to get them?
Keep an eye on your parameters after adding the fish so as to be aware if you have any ammonia spikes. Keep your nitrates to about 20 or less ppm if possible.
How far away is your lfs? Have you contacted them to see if they have the fish you want if you have to drive to get them?
boojumsnark25
Aquarium Advice Regular
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Zagz said:
went there a couple weeks to scout em out...they've got all i want and i'm going on the day they get their shipment in...
btw, i have plans to move the bgk if/when he gets too large
neilanh
Sliced Bread
Like the other said, when your Nitrites get down to 0, dose in a few ppm ammonia, and if you can turn that all the way to nitrAte in 24 hours, you're completely cycled.
boojumsnark25
Aquarium Advice Regular
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neilanh said:
yeah, i've done that, i'm converting 4 in 14 hours...
I think it might be that when I started I was dosing like 8-9 ppm ammonia
7Enigma
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sounds to me like your done. If in 14 hours your going from 4ppm ammonia to 0.5ppm nitrIte, that is essentially completed. Normally 2ppm ammonia conversion in 12-24hours is considered acceptable for full tank stocking from my experience. I always recommend sparse feeding for the first couple of days just to make sure your biofilter can handle the load, but you seem to have a VERY robust filter.
I would recommend AGAINST getting the fish on the day the shipment comes in. I understand you want to get them all at once due to the LFS being far away but I feel you will be dissapointed with that decision. We recommened waiting at least a couple days (a week or 2 is preferable) before purchasing fish as the diseased and weakened will normally be weeded out during that time.
I would hate to see you come home with a fully cycled tank and have 25% of your fish die from being mishandled and the stress from shipment. Whatever you do, keep a close eye on the tank after you stock since your odds of at least 1 fish dying are pretty high and you don't want it to rot and release a lot of ammonia which could cause a minicycle.
And remember to do a HUGE PWC before adding the fish, and bring along a large styrofoam container that can fit all the bags of fish so you can keep the temperature as stable as possible during transit. I'd also personally recommend asking them to put as much water as possible in each bag. This will keep the ammonia as dilute as possible during transit because fish freak out and produce a LOT of waste which can harm them if you have a long trip between the store and your house).
Goodluck.
I would recommend AGAINST getting the fish on the day the shipment comes in. I understand you want to get them all at once due to the LFS being far away but I feel you will be dissapointed with that decision. We recommened waiting at least a couple days (a week or 2 is preferable) before purchasing fish as the diseased and weakened will normally be weeded out during that time.
I would hate to see you come home with a fully cycled tank and have 25% of your fish die from being mishandled and the stress from shipment. Whatever you do, keep a close eye on the tank after you stock since your odds of at least 1 fish dying are pretty high and you don't want it to rot and release a lot of ammonia which could cause a minicycle.
And remember to do a HUGE PWC before adding the fish, and bring along a large styrofoam container that can fit all the bags of fish so you can keep the temperature as stable as possible during transit. I'd also personally recommend asking them to put as much water as possible in each bag. This will keep the ammonia as dilute as possible during transit because fish freak out and produce a LOT of waste which can harm them if you have a long trip between the store and your house).
Goodluck.
